Incapacitated: history points to failed reform

High on the agenda at the recent Conservative party conference was a plan to abolish, or re-invent Incapacity Benefit. Mike Oliver wonders whether this time it will actually happen

In the last 30 years there have been four attempts to cut the bill for Incapacity Benefit, each associated with the coming to power of a new prime minister.

All have been unsuccessful and the bills have continued to rise.

Margaret Thatcher failed because she used what was then called invalidity benefit to mask the appalling consequences of her economic policies.

John Major failed because he was too weak to take on the powerful disability lobby of the 1990s. Tony Blair backed off after he was visited by the Direct Action Network who threw fake blood over his front door to remind him of the possible consequences of his actions. Finally Gordon Brown was kicked out before he was able to implement his proposals properly.

There is no doubt that the numbers of people claiming Incapacity Benefit have continued to rise and the costs have increased accordingly to the point where it’s possible to say that there is considerable public support for a policy of cutting Incapacity Benefit. The problem for this Government is that its strategy for carrying this out is exactly the same as the strategies used in all of the failed attempts which have included a negative and a positive element.

The negative element involves identifying and shaming so-called scroungers. In the past they have proved very difficult to find in any large numbers, despite setting up anti-fraud departments and sending highly paid researchers onto the streets. And for every scrounger identified the media usually comes up with someone deserving who has their benefits stopped.

The positive element usually involves getting people back into work via individual support programmes and by stimulating the economy to create more jobs.

With current plans to cut jobs in the public sector it is very unlikely that the private sector will provide ready-made replacements and individual support programmes have been failing for the last 60 years.

Even if the private sector does create thousands of new jobs in the next few years, it’s unlikely they will be filled by people coming off benefits. Instead, if the British labour market needs new workers the jobs will be filled by a new wave of immigrants just as they have been in the past.

So what’s likely to happen then? Undoubtedly a few scroungers will be scared off benefits and some deserving ones will have to fight hard and publicly to keep theirs. The name of the new benefit will be changed again. Access to it will also be made harder – after all future claimants are not in a position to protest. And by the time this has happened the Government will be thinking about the next general election and making promises to cut the costs of this new benefit if they are re-elected.